Murder inquiry launched after death of a woman in Darlington

Its after the body of a woman was found in a ground floor flat in the town last night.

The victim, who is thought to be 40, was discovered by the emergency services in Outram Street at around quarter past 7 after calls from a neighbour.

A post mortem examination will be carried out later.

The man leading the inquiry Det Supt Neil Malkin said:

"It's believed the victim died between 6.30pm and 7.15pm last night"

"We need to build up a picture of the events that led up to the death of this lady and I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything that might help us do that to contact us."

A team of 20 police investigators are involved in the inquiry and an incident room has been set up at Darlington police station. It can be contacted via 0345 6060 365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Meanwhile, a 37 year old local man is being held on suspicion of murder and is currently being questioned at Darlington Police station.